PHOTOS: New Greensboro City Council sworn in

Outgoing mayor Robbie Perkins listing the council's accomplishments since 2011

Council and the audience gave him a standing ovation

Outgoing councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small and Perkins hugging

Mayor Pro Tem Yvonne Johnson talking with new Councilman Jamal Fox

Left: New Councilman Mike Barber. Background: Fox.

District 2 Councilman Jamal Fox poses for a picture

NC Rep. Marcus Brandon photo-bombs new Councilwoman Sharon Hightower before she is sworn in

Tony Wilkins takes a picture of Nancy Vaughan in the mayor's seat. Marikay Abuzuaiter did next.

Greensboro's new Mayor Nancy Vaughan being sworn in, surrounded by her family
(Read more about her and her family in this week's cover story, SLAP SHOT).

Bellamy-Small asks for recount, releases statement

Long-serving Greensboro Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small is asking for a recount in her District 1 loss to Sharon Hightower at the behest of her constituents, she said in a press release this morning.

Hightower narrowly defeated Bellamy-Small in Tuesday's general election, winning with a mere 15 votes. There were 14 write-in votes in the district and the number did not reflect provisional ballots, but Guilford County Elections Director Charlie Collicutt said at the time that there were too few provisionals to change the  result. A losing candidate can call for a recount if the gap between the turnout numbers is 1 percent or less, Collicutt said. In this year's Greensboro City Council races, that only applies to District 1. 

Here is Bellamy-Small's full press release:

"T. Dianne Bellamy-Small has served District 1 for the past 10 years with dignity, respect, hard work, responsiveness and honor. The body of work that I have been able to accomplish with the professional support of city staff and the community speaks for itself. Being and elected official, who is a change agent and a stoker, has been demanding, challenging and a rewarding experience.

The request for the recount was made at the request of my constituents and I respect them enough to ask for this process. As I have said from the beginning of my service, I serve at the will of the people. I wish the new council well and hope that they will respect all the people they now serve and not themselves. The fact that I attempted to befriend and mentor the new District 1 representative meant that I had the greater capacity to look beyond someone’s faults and see his or her needs. I have encouraged,  mentored and befriended many others successfullly over the years.  District 1 need to have the best leadership possible and I hope that with the new council they will get what they deserve.

The concerns for District 1 and the city are not about whether one likes someone, but about getting out and doing the job for the greater good of our citizens. And finally, I want to thank all of my supporters. They should be proud of what we have accomplished over the last 10 years. Thank you."

If the results stand, Hightower will be one of two new candidates joining the city council. Jamal Fox, 25, upended District 2 Councilman Jim Kee. All other incumbents held their seat except for Mayor Robbie Perkins, who lost to At-large Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan. Former councilman Mike Barber, who last served in 2009, was elected to the at-large seat left vacant by Vaughan.

Candidate Sharon Hightower: Adopt one of my kittens!

When I walked into Sharon Hightower's home near Lee Street in East Greensboro, I didn't expect to be ambushed by a pile of adorable kittens. Hightower, who is running for Greensboro City Council's District 1 seat (against incumbent Dianne Bellamy-Small and challenger Tigress McDaniel), has five kittens that need good homes. Three of them are white while two (in the picture below) are grey and white. They're about five weeks old and watching them play together was almost too much for me to handle. 

We spent the first several minutes or so talking about the kittens, while Hightower looked for the fifth one that didn't appear until later after presumably taking a nap. 

Call Sharon Hightower at 336-508-5246 if you're interested in (and capable of) adopting one or some of these fur balls. Coincidentally on my way to our office immediately after, I saw a sign that the Guilford County Animal Shelter urgently needs foster families for some of the animals there, and when I called to ask they said it's mostly kittens. Call them at 336-297-5020.

Speaking of kittens, our annual pets issue is out today! Pick up a copy or read it online at www.yesweekly.com!

Greensboro City Council filings: Trouble!

Among the 11th-hour filings for the Greensboro City Council race, some surprises surface.

The marquee story is in the at-large race, where among the usual gang — incumbents Yvonne Johnson and Marikay Abuzuaiter; old hands like Mike Barber, Jean Brown and Chris Lawyer; and "Who Dat?" candidates like Marlando Pridgen and Joseph Landis — are a couple of familiar names. My old friend Ben Holder, AKA the Troublemaker, has thrown his hat into the ring. I hear he's getting an "S" tattooed on his chest to get properly fired up for the race. And young activist/journalist/scenester Katei Cranford has decided to get into the game, too. Just one of the fascinating things about her is that she's the niece of Billy "Crash" Craddock. 

There are no surprises in districts 1 and 2. In D-1, incumbents Dianne Bellamy-Small has jazz singer and activist Tigress McDaniel and city insider Sharon Hightower looking to take the throne. In D-2 no one has challenged Jamal Fox's move for Jim Kee's seat.In District 3, Zack Matheny will defend his seat against Corey Pisher and Wendell Roth. John Underwood has joined the fray between D-4 incumbent Nancy Hoffmann and former mayor Bill Knight.

And in District 5, Tony Wilkins, who was appointed to his seat after Sen. Trudy Wade took statewide office, faces shapeshifter Sal Leone and another  new name, my old friend Alex Seymour.

I worked with Alex at Bert's Seafood Grille years ago, and we remain friends. He's become active in city government on a grassroots level, and is a fixture (or, at least, he was) in the beard and bluegrass scenes.

Consider this a disclosure. Of course, I've known Wilkins (and most of the other people running) for years, as well.

Gateway Gardens gets green light

The Greensboro City Council voted unanimously on March 17 to move forward with the construction of Gateway Gardens with a traffic light at Florida Street and a turn lane at the Lee Street entrance of the gardens. Interim City Manager Bob Morgan said the cost of the traffic light — $30,000 to $40,000 — could be absorbed in this year’s budget, and the $180,000 cost of the turn lane would come out of transportation bond funds. “The consensus is not that we are happy about the outcome, but what do you do at this point?” resident Sharon Hightower said. “What we hope going forward is that organizations realize neighborhoods and communities need to be engaged in the process, not just shown a project…. We have a lot of people that are very interested in being part of advisory boards.” District 1 Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small indicated that was a likely outcome of a neighborhood meeting held on March 14: “One of the things that did happen Saturday that I think was a step forward is that we asked that some of the people who live in the immediate area be a part of the Gateway Gardens committee on this particular project, Greensboro Beautiful’s Gateway Gardens Committee, because there is no representation from the immediate area,” she said. “And I think three people signed up and said they wanted to do that.”